Now that the dust has settled on Monday’s Grizzlies-Pelicans trade, William Guillory of The Athletic takes a look at why the Pelicans made the move, what it means for the future, and the man assumed to be at the center of the sudden push for cap space: Kyle Lowry.
After getting off of the contracts for Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams, the Pelicans project to have about $22MM in cap space, and if they renounce Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and their remaining free agents, that number could climb to $36MM, more than enough to make a competitive offer to Lowry.
But despite the obvious on-court and leadership appeal of Lowry, Guillory preaches caution when thinking that Lowry could have the same impact that, say, Chris Paul had on the Suns. Lowry, while a great player in his own right, has been limited by injuries the last three seasons, and doesn’t have quite the same track record of raising a team’s expectations as Paul.
Guillory also points out that because of the reported interest in Lowry from teams like the Sixers, Heat and Lakers, it’s likely that New Orleans, which is not a prime free agent destination, would have to overpay for the 35-year-old guard.
We have more news from the Pelicans:
- New head coach Willie Green just finished a miracle run to the Finals with the Suns, and he’s looking to see a similar leap with the Pelicans next year, writes ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “We’re really close to taking the next step,” Green said. “I believe going into next season that’s our goal, that’s our mindset. That’s what makes us a sleeping giant. We have two young All-Stars. Putting a lot of talent around those guys and really just making this team go.”
- Within the same piece from Lopez, executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin lays out what he considered his vision for the offseason: “What we hope we’re able to do in the coming weeks in the offseason and heading up through the following years is build a sustainable winner that’s rooted in that gratitude and joyfulness led by Willie Green and the players… that leadership voice, that shooting we need to put around our great young stars. We’re heading towards that.”
- While gameplans and racking up wins may be part of Green’s agenda, one priority stands out above all others, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst: ensuring Zion Williamson wants to stay in New Orleans long-term. Green has the reputation of creating deep bonds with his players, but this will be a new challenge as a first-time coach of a superstar in a small market. Williamson reportedly had some concerns with former head coach Stan Van Gundy, making Green’s ability to be a player’s coach even more crucial.
Tough to imagine Lowry wanting to play for the Pelicans.
why not? NO has a pretty solid team now with Zion,Ingram,Jonas. add Lowry and they could be a playoff team and darkhorse. they could also sign some vets
I don’t think Lowry is looking to join a “playoff dark horse”
My long term plan for Pelicans
Step 1 use $30MM cap room
Sign Gary Trent 4 year $60M AND Duncan Robinson 4 year $70M
Step 2
Resign Ball
Now Pelicans are good enough to make playoffs
Zion and JV are a huge force in the paint.
better to sign Lowry over Lonzo. he would be like CP3 in phoenix helping these young guys. use the rest of the money to get some good vets or sign another good player like Norman Powell if Lillard leaves
Lowry/Powell/Ingram/Zion/Jonas would be a dope team
Sixers and Lakers are highly unlikely to land Lowry because of hard cap rules
Sixers and Lakers need double-overpaid to get Lowry sign and trade
Overpay 1
attach future picks and young players to Raptors
Overpay 2
Lowry is worth 2 year $50 million, and 76ers or Lakers pay him 2 year $60M
Ouch, hard capped
team salary exceed $142.6 million
If Lowry leaves Toronto it’s so he can play at home with the 76ers or chase more rings. I cant see the pelicans as a place to chase a ring
“Lowry, while a great player in his own right, has been limited by injuries the last three seasons, and doesn’t have quite the same track record of raising a team’s expectations as Paul.”
Dunno about that, Lowry won a championship with Kawhi (which we all know CP3 didn’t with Harden or Griffin), then led the Raptors to 53-19 and a 3-4 loss in the semis without Kawhi. I’d say that’s as good if not better than CP3’s track record of lifting a team.
Agreed. That statement stood out to me as somewhat arguable as well.
CP3 is all time great, and Lowry isn’t. But, yeah, there’s no general distinction based one’s ability, more than the other’s, to raise expectations.
Narratives like this one almost always owe their existence to a single event. In CP3’s case the event was the year in OKC. The team acquired him as part of a gut rebuild, and the expectations were for a bottom 5 finish. Then they make the playoffs, finishing 5th in the WC. Few teams have exceeded expectations to this degree in NBA history. Their PG leader got disproportionate credit, and along the way was endowed with mystical qualities. Lowry hasn’t been with a team that’s shocked the world in this way, but CP3 could easily have gone his whole career with having one too (most players do).
Chris Paul cannot be an all-time great when he has a long track record in failing on big moment games. Witness again how he fell short in the recent finals. Lowry has the label of being a late 1st Rd draft pick and an over achiever but every Raptor fan knows who won it for us in the final championship game. Let Nola sign & trade for Lowry. Raps could use Lonzo and JV.
Personally I’d rather have Zo Ball staying in NOLA than K-Low in any circumstance, maybe only way I take K-Low is if he comes like at a half price than Ball.
I do see that K-Low is the better player, for now as Ball might end up been better one day, but he is like 11/12 years older & for a team that should be fighting for the future, not the present ain’t looking good to spent a lot on an old dude that breaks down every year & isn’t gonna get any younger.
Lottery teams that are looking at the Suns and saying “That could be us next year!” are really no different then people with Robinhood accounts assuming they’re one Bitcoin trade away from retirement.
As talented as Zion is, New Orleans is extremely far away. That have no rim protector like Ayton and lack wing defenders like Crowder Johnson and Bridges. Should be a fun team offensively either way though.
How does CP3 success. Now make PG leadership sexy in NBA. Don’t these idiots know that’s what PG means. That’s the definition of Point Guard. You run a team, run an offense, manage a game. CP3 is probably best at it, true. So do these idiots think he invented this. Seriously I truly wonder why I didn’t go help run a team. Instead of working for a living.
Lowry is not going to NO at 35 yrs old. Wake up people. He can get decent money from a contender. And even better yet if Sixers want him. He can go home and try and win a title. Pelicans (hate this name, should be Jazz) should be focused. On a sign-b-trade with Ball. So they don’t lose him for nothing. And why exactly did you draft Kira. So you can bring another PG to play and keep him on bench. This is BS or desperation. Trade Ball for value. Scary Terry would be a nice addition in NO. He would love to lead this team to prominence. Pelicans pleasing players is wrong approach. Build a playoff team with a future and you will please those players. Valanciunas was a solid move. Lowry is not coming here. Focus elsewhere is what I say.